Thaiger

If you have story ideas, a restaurant to review, an event to cover or an issue to discuss, contact The Thaiger editorial staff.
  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Tuesday, May 26 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Tuesday, May 26

    Bangkok woman dies of salmonella poisoning after eating ‘death dumplings’ Following the death of a Bangkok woman who fell ill after eating dumplings, lab tests have now come back proving there were detected traces of salmonella bacteria. The Samut Prakan provincial health office confirms that several members of the woman’s family also fell ill after eating the dumplings, which were…

  • World NewsCritics say new security laws will infringe on Hong Kong’s autonomy | Thaiger

    Critics say new security laws will infringe on Hong Kong’s autonomy

    Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam has tried to reassure rattled residents and international investors that proposed national security laws won’t trample on the city’s rights and freedoms. She has joined the chorus of reassuring support for Beijing’s attempts to find better ways to control the destabilising protests that have disrupted the city for seven months over the past year.…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Monday, May 25 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Monday, May 25

    2 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Thailand with one additional death Today there have been 2 new confirmed cases of the Covid-19 Coronavirus in Thailand with 1 additional death. The 2 new cases consist of 1 imported case from a Thai National being repatriated from Russia last Wednesday. She’s currently under state quarantine in Chon Buri province. The other…

  • Tourism NewsPhuket’s lost summer – looking to 2021 for tourism recovery | Thaiger

    Phuket’s lost summer – looking to 2021 for tourism recovery

    In a solemn recognition of the reality of Phuket’s stalled tourist industry, a spokesperson for the southern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association is saying most of the west coast hotels are unlikely to reopen until the last quarter of this year. And that’s just the start of the problems for the popular island beach resort. For now, Phuket’s International…

  • Covid-19 NewsCurfew may be shortened another hour – Midnight to 4am | Thaiger

    Curfew may be shortened another hour – Midnight to 4am

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, headed up by the Thai PM, is mulling knocking off another hour from the national curfew. If it goes ahead the curfew would shortened from 11pm – 4am daily to Midnight – 4am daily. It could happen as early as June 1, along with other relaxations of restrictions. The National Security Council is being…

  • Business NewsNew Thai Airways board will nominate 4 ‘professionals’ to execute restructure | Thaiger

    New Thai Airways board will nominate 4 ‘professionals’ to execute restructure

    Thai Airways first took off as the national airline on May 1, 1960 with its first passenger-carrying flight. 60 years later it’s now poised for a massive dissection as it enters bankruptcy proceedings and restructuring. It’s 60th birthday passed without fanfare or announcement as the pride of the nation scrambles for survival – a victim of a global pandemic, years…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Friday, May 22 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Friday, May 22

    Zero new case in Thailand today. Upgrades to ‘luxury quarantine’ available for returnees Don’t like the accommodation the government have provided for you for your mandatory 14 day quarantine, sick of the boring Thai menu they’re serving you for three meals a day, don’t like the colour of the curtains? Fear not. Now you upgrade your quarantine accommodation. But you’re…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Thursday, May 21 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Thursday, May 21

    Covid-19 update: 3 new cases including German man, no deaths 3 new Covid-19 cases have been found over the past 24 hour period, but no deaths, bringing the national total to 3,037 and leaving the death toll at 56. The new cases were found in Bangkok and Chon Buri – 2 community infections while the other was a repatriate student…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesCyclone Amphan: Crossed the coast and now saturating India and Bangladesh | Thaiger

    Cyclone Amphan: Crossed the coast and now saturating India and Bangladesh

    Cyclone Amphan made reached the coastline late yesterday afternoon near the Indian town of Digha, on India’s eastern coast, near the border with Bangladesh. As the storm marched up the Bay of Bengal since the weekend, strengthening, thousands of people were evacuated as a precaution for the major storm system. Millions of other have taken shelter or made their way…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Wednesday, May 20 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Wednesday, May 20

    Start off today with a sign of one of the new normals, at the Seacon Mall near Bang Na in Bangkok. Here you can see that they’ve installed foot switches for the elevator system. First to call the elevator and then, once you’re inside, to select the floor and close the doors. Luckily in the case of this elevator there…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Tuesday, May 19 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Tuesday, May 19

    Thailand’s new Covid-19 cases – May 19 Today the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, reported 2 additional cases of Covid-19 bringing the total number of cases in Thailand to 3,033. No further deaths have been confirmed today, leaving the accumulated toll at 56. The 2 new cases were the daughter and son in law of a previously confirmed Covid-19 patient…

  • Economy NewsThai GDP drops nearly 2% in first quarter | Thaiger

    Thai GDP drops nearly 2% in first quarter

    The Thai economy’s slumped by nearly 2% year-on-year during Q1, 2020. In it’s full-year forecast, the National Economic and Social Development Council forecasts that the Thai GDP would drop 5-6% for the year. As a comparison, the economy tanked 7.6% during the 1997 financial crisis. The Gross Domestic Product in Q1 dropped by 1.8%, compared to a rise of 1.5% in the…

  • Covid-19 NewsGlobal aviation in acute crisis | Thaiger

    Global aviation in acute crisis

    by Andrew J Wood “…by the end of May 2020 most airlines in the world will be bankrupt.” Global aviation has been battered and commercial scheduled air traffic remains mostly grounded as countries enforce their lockdowns and travel restrictions. There are few signs that the end is in sight. For the largest of carriers like IAG (British Airways), United, American…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Monday, May 18 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Monday, May 18

    Click here to watch….. https://youtu.be/5NnXB4l03Cs Thailand’s Covid-19 numbers, 2 from Bangkok, one in Phuket 3 new cases of the coronavirus have been announced in Thailand today, bringing the total cases to 3,031. No additional deaths were recorded, leaving the accumulated toll at 56. Of the 3 new cases reported, two were a man and a woman in Nonthaburi province (north…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesHot in the north, wet in the south, cyclone in the Bay of Bengal | Thaiger

    Hot in the north, wet in the south, cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

    Hot conditions, along with thunderstorms and gusty winds, are the feature of weather in the north east and eastern regions over the next few days. There will also be some additional wet weather for southern provinces on the west coast, due to the extensive storm system, which has now been named Cyclone Amphan, in the north part of the Bay…

  • Central Thailand News4 people and 3 dogs rescued from Phitsanulok forest | Thaiger

    4 people and 3 dogs rescued from Phitsanulok forest

    Four members of the Phitsanulok’s Wang Thong district community, along with their 3 dogs, have been found after being lost since May 12. The group, who had been lost in the Phitsanulok forest for five days, were spotted by a police helicopter yesterday. Pol General Krisana Pattanacharoen, the deputy spokesman of the Royal Thai Police, said that the helicopter reported the…

  • Transport NewsThai Airways ponders bankruptcy as it enters rehab | Thaiger

    Thai Airways ponders bankruptcy as it enters rehab

    Thai Airways, which turns 60 years old this month, recorded a net loss of US$66 million in 2017, US$361 million in 2018 and US$374 million last year. As the airline contemplates getting its grounded planes back in the air, it’s now confronted with a PR disaster at home as the government ponders a bailout valued around 60 billion baht, around US$1.8…

  • Covid-19 NewsFortress Phuket remains sealed off from the mainland | Thaiger

    Fortress Phuket remains sealed off from the mainland

    A request by Phuket officials to reopen the Sarasin Bridge has been refused. The Governor has confirmed that the island will remain ‘closed’ until further notice. That includes the Phuket International Airport which was going to re-open yesterday (May 16), but 24 hours after the notice to reopen the airport on Thursday, the Civil Aviation Authority did a U-turn on…

  • Politics NewsThai PM thanks the 20 billionaires for their support during crisis | Thaiger

    Thai PM thanks the 20 billionaires for their support during crisis

    The Thai PM has offered his “heartfelt thanks” to a list of Thai billionaires he wrote to a month ago seeking their guidance and ideas at the height of the Thai outbreak of the Covid-19 virus. He thanked them in a Facebook post and commented on their willingness to “offer a helping hand”. “All of them had responded energetically to my…

  • Covid-19 NewsBan on international travel into Thailand extended until June 30 | Thaiger

    Ban on international travel into Thailand extended until June 30

    The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has today announced an extension of their current ban on international travel another month, until at least the end of June, 2020. The current ban on scheduled international flights was extended last month to cover May, up to May 31. But now the CAAT have announced the extension for at least another month. There…

  • Transport NewsThai public balks at Thai Airways’ 60 billion bail out | Thaiger

    Thai public balks at Thai Airways’ 60 billion bail out

    A big decision is on the horizon for Thai Airways, the beleaguered national carrier. Crucial decisions are now being discussed which will define the airlines’ future. The airline was still haemorrhaging cash well before the coronavirus crisis started grounding planes from the start of February this year. Thai Airways’ fortunes have been in a death spiral for the past decade,…

  • Politics NewsFour destinations removed from Thailand’s “high risk” list | Thaiger

    Four destinations removed from Thailand’s “high risk” list

    Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has removed two countries and two special administrative zones off its list of Covid-19 ‘high-risk’ countries. The destinations include China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau. The announcement was made late yesterday and listed in the Royal Gazette. The announcement mentioned the “effectiveness of those areas in containing the continued spread of the deadly virus”.…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Friday, May 15 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Friday, May 15

    Maison Saigon7 new cases, all imported, no new deaths 7 new cases of Covid-19 this morning at the daily press briefing. The new cases bring the national total to 3,025 since the beginning of the outbreak. But today’s new infections are all among Thais returning from Pakistan, 6 men and a woman, aged 17-31. All are now in state quarantine.…

  • Covid-19 NewsUPDATE: Phuket airport reopening delayed, again | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Phuket airport reopening delayed, again

    UPDATE: In a surprise reversal, The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has announced the postponement of the reopening of Phuket International Airport, indefinitely. Just yesterday they announced that the provincial airport was to re-open from tomorrow morning. Although Phuket has gone 13 days with no new Covid 19 infections, it was still considered a risk area that needs to be…

  • World NewsVongfong, aka. Ambo, barrels into Philippines’ east coast | Thaiger

    Vongfong, aka. Ambo, barrels into Philippines’ east coast

    Typhoon Vongfong (aka. ‘Ambo’ in the Philippines) has made landfall, forcing tens of thousands of people to quickly evacuate whilst in the middle of lockdown amid their local Covid-19 outbreak. The typhoon struck the Phillipines east coast islands around Samar at around noon yesterday. Around 200,000 people living in the coastal areas near Samar have been affected. Vongfong packed winds of…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Thursday, May 14 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Thursday, May 14

    Tenants bailing out of pricey Bangkok offices amid pandemic Bangkok’s high-end office district is looking more like a ghost town as the coronavirus pandemic seems to have many companies bailing out of their pricey office spaces. Business owners have had a wake-up call from employees discovering the advantages of working from home. A spokesperson from Phoenix Property Development and Consultancy…

  • Business NewsAustralian government takes on Google and Facebook over re-publishing ‘news’ | Thaiger

    Australian government takes on Google and Facebook over re-publishing ‘news’

    A leading Australian consumer watchdog is calling for Google and other tech giants to pay Australian news outlets A$600 million (12.4 billion baht) a year under a new code of conduct ordered by the government. News Limited and Nine Entertainment have also voiced their support for the news ‘tax’. The Australia government announced plans to force Google, Facebook, and other…

  • World NewsFewer Chinese tour groups, more independent travellers to reboot SE Asia travel | Thaiger

    Fewer Chinese tour groups, more independent travellers to reboot SE Asia travel

    Hoping that Chinese tourism is going to ride magically back into Thailand on the back of a gleaming red dragon and save the tattered tourism sector may be precipitous. Of course there are so, so many unknowns even the regular travel writers and consultants are scrambling to forecast a way forward. For Thailand, the ban on international flights hasn’t even…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today – Wednesday, May 13 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today – Wednesday, May 13

    Zero new cases. Covid-19 update, first time since March Very happy to announce another milestone in Thailand’s own battle with the Covid-19 virus. No new cases announced for today, the first time that’s happened since March 9. This keeps the country on track for the second phase of reopening and easing of Emergency Decree restrictions scheduled for this Sunday, but…

  • Business NewsMovies in a Covid world – The case for the return of the Drive In | Thaiger

    Movies in a Covid world – The case for the return of the Drive In

    One of the industries hard hit by the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak has been the film industry. At both ends the industry has been shuttered – the making of the movies and then the watching of the movies in cinemas. At some stage the movie making machine will chug back to life and, sometime, we’ll be allowed to go…